Runaway Girl

A runaway. That is what she was right now. Her one and only home and been burnt to the ground with no hope on putting it back together. She had taken to roaming the lands of Alacriris, something that she had never done since finding these lands. She was still a slave, she would always be one no matter how far away she ran. There was no way to shake that now, it was too late. Too long had she been beaten down to a shell of the creature she once was. She would never be able to revert to that old self, that wolf was dead and gone. After she had watched her pups bleed out before her very eyes, she was broken. A worn and torn play thing, beyond anyone's help. Sure, smae had tried, but it was too late. Too many things had happened, and too much time had past. There was no healing these wounds, even time itself left her bruised and scared.

That fateful day had never left her mind, she saw it every time she closed her eyes. It replayed in her mind no matter how hard she tried to lock it out. Her babies, her freshly born little ones were snuggled up by her side, taking in her warmth. Their father came to see them, but there was something different in his eyes. For the first time Ekko felt the sharp stab of fear for her children, too early in their lives. Looking down at the bundles she curled around them protectively, but it was no use. He didn't come alone. She was torn away from them, and no matter how hard she fought she could not get away. She was pinned to the earth, her head held in place. Her pups cried out for her, their little bodies craving the warmth of her side. Her heart began to break, piece by piece. And then it happened. That bastard lashed out, clawing at the first bundle. Ekko screamed, an earth shattering sound. Her child cried for her too, before its short life was taken from it. For some reason, Ekko could not close her eyes. She was forced to watch and he clawed and bit at their small bodies, tearing them apart. Too young. Too little. Her babies! The cruel wolf had made sure that their deaths were brutal and slow, and she was helpless. The blows then fell on her, but she was too numb to even feel them. She didn't care, she was dead inside. Slowly crawling towards their broken bodies, she curled around them and allowed their blows to land. Pain was nothing, nothing compared to what she just witnessed. Her babies... Echo's head was forced up, the claws digging deep into her face. She hardly felt it, not even when the crimson liquid dripped into her eye. Nothing. There was nothing this world could offer her. She begged them to kill her, although her maw did not move more and more hits landed. Then they left her, bleeding out. She didn't care. Nothing... her sight faded, and she fell into darkness. Not death, for that would be to kind. She was forced to live without them, with these images flashing in her mind.

The small female had frozen when the images came to her, and she fiercely shook her head to rid them. They would leave her for now, but they would always be back. Not even realizing where she was, she gazed around the land before her. How long as she been stuck standing here? She didn't even remember when she left, or when she wandered into this forest. It was green, almost too bright to her hazy, dream like eyes. Did anyone hold claim here? Of that she was not sure, but that didn't stop her from walking onward. It was all she could do now, was to move on. Her babies lived on in her mind, although she only had a few fleeting moments before they were taken from her. She had often asked why, but that was no use to her. She wished she had the courage to seek revenge, but she didn't have enough room in her shattered heart for anger. So she stepped forward, her body cowered close to the ground even now. She would never outgrow the habits that she adapted of a slave, for it was who she was now. Ekko the Slave. That should be her title, as unchanging as she would be.

Sighing softly, the sad dame wandered onward, a hopeless wanderer at this point. When the images came to her as they often did, she was quite drained of energy at that point. She didn't want to move, but she needed too. Just keep moving. Maybe, just maybe she could walk away from her past. Sure, it shaped her into the hollow being she was at the moment, but maybe the pictures would go away. While she still saw her babies in the happy things around her, she wished that the sight of their death would leave her. Who knows, maybe their souls escaped the brutality and ended up in a better place. Ekko sure hoped that that was the case. As for her, there was no hope in forgetting. How could she? They were most likely her last litter. Ever since their loss, her biggest fear was to carry pups again. She would not be able to handle another loss, it would break her. She would surely die if there was hardly anything holding her to the earth as it was.

Finally stopping her tired body, the dame spotted a large rock that was warmed by the sun. Ah, warmth. While her body could feel it, her heart could not. But no matter... she walked over to it and settled atop it anyway. She still remembered what it was like to have her pups snuggled up to her belly, much like the warmth that seeped from both the top of the rock and the sun that now settled on her rusted pelt. It was a heat that wrapped you up in it, covering every part of your body. Another sigh worked its way through her maw as she settled her head on her paws. A butterfly was resting on a flower nearby, its paper thin wings fluttering softly as it drank nectar. Its brilliant orange and black body reminded her of her babes, there bodies whole and small against her side. If she closed her eyes tight enough, she could almost imagine them wiggling against her as they fought for the best spot, the closest one to their mother. A smile cracked across her dry lips, a small chuckle bubbling up from her chest. Yes, she would be with them one day. One day she would be able to curl around them once more, and this time she would be able to protect them.